Belgrade on Water the greatest development opportunity

BELGRADE - The Belgrade on Water project is the city's greatest development opportunity and the most significant infrastructure project in the country, the head of the Belgrade Interim Authority Sinisa Mali has said.

"The presentation of the project at the real estate fair in Cannes was an outstanding opportunity for us," the Belgrade city administration quoted Mali as saying.

Belgrade on Water had its international premiere on Tuesday at the Cannes fair.

"The project makes it possible to employ the entire construction industry in Serbia and kick-start the economy. It encourages us to complete other major projects, such as the city's central railway station, the bypass road around Belgrade and the construction of a new bus station," the city official said.

The objective is to finish the Belgrade on Water project within the next eight years, while the railway station, the new bus station in New Belgrade and the bypass road are to be completed in four to five years, Mali said.

The project investment will rely on funds provided by an investor from the United Arab Emirates and land and infrastructure invested by Serbia, with profits to be divided proportionally, Mali said.

"How the profits will be divided has not been defined yet, but Serbia will probably be getting around 35 percent, with the foreign partner getting around 65 percent," he said.

All expenses of infrastructure construction and arrangements in the Sava Amphitheatre, on the right bank of the Sava River in downtown Belgrade, will be covered by the investor and the Serbian government and the city will work on clearing the ground and obtaining the required permits, he said.

Completing the central railway station will cost...